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The wonder

I liked this book, I can see it as a really compelling play, but it felt stagnant for the first half. I grant it some leeway for being a book about a watch that doesn't change, for good reason, for half the story... but the author could have found a way to bring it a bit more alive in the first few segments.Jackie (Hespeler Library)13/05/17

4

While I don't think that this book is a remake of "Room" the story is situated in a room and the dialogue is predominately between the adult and the child. About half way through, I thought, I would give up on it because, I found it repetitive but I am glad I persevered because the last tenth of the book was really gripping and clever. We don't find out until close to the end that things are not what they seem in either of the main characters. It was a good testament of how hard life was two centuries ago and how religion gave hope.Angela Caretta (Staff) (Hespeler Library)19/12/16

5

This book was well worth the wait to read. I've always enjoyed Donoghue's writing, and The Wonder did not disappoint. She breathes life into very ordinary characters - a nurse caring for a small Irish girl - and makes them realistic and genuine. The relationships that she builds between her characters drew me in and I could not put it down. Halfway through the novel I thought this could have been a boring story because for most of it it's just a nurse caring for a patient in a tiny bedroom and the interactions between the two. But it's not. Instead, you are immersed in the "wonder" of the plights of these ordinary female characters as they struggle against the dichotomy of faith and science. This book was a Giller Prize finalist and is definitely a must read of the year. Jamie (Staff) (Queen's Square Library)08/11/16

5

I could not put down this haunting, heart wrenching novel from “Room” author Emma Donoghue. Lib, an English nurse, is summoned to Ireland for an unusual assignment: observe an eleven-year-old girl who reportedly has not eaten in four months, and determine whether or not she is indeed a living miracle. The child worsens day by day, and soon Lib is caught between science and superstition - body and soul - in a gripping struggle to save a life.Jessica Sheff (Staff) (Preston Library)17/10/16